Minnesota Wild: Flu keeps Mikko Koivu off ice

Wild center Mikko Koivu (9) pauses during the scrimmage in the third period at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Tuesday, January 16, 2013. (Pioneer Press: Chris Polydoroff)

The flu going through the Wild lineup has hit Mikko Koivu, forcing the team captain to miss practice Tuesday, Feb. 19, at Xcel Energy Center.

Koivu, who was feeling ill but played during Sunday's 3-2 home victory over the Detroit Red Wings, is expected to travel to Edmonton on Wednesday for the first game of a two-game road trip. Minnesota plays the Oilers on Thursday, then travels to Calgary to play the Flames on Saturday.

Koivu is the latest of several Wild players who have had the flu recently. Goaltender Niklas Backstrom sat out the win over the Red Wings on Sunday because of the flu, and Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Justin Falk, Devin Setoguchi and Ryan Suter have had recent bouts with illness.

Backstrom took part in practice Tuesday and said he felt better after deciding just before Sunday's game he was not well enough to play.

"You want to try," he said, "but during pregame I was really weak and I felt really bad. I think I would have done more harm to myself and to my team if I tried to stay out there."

Backstrom was replaced by Darcy Kuemper, who recorded his first NHL win.

"It was fun to watch and see how he enjoyed it and the way that he played," Backstrom said.

Coach Mike Yeo said Tuesday he remains undecided about his lineup against Edmonton because he's not sure who will be available. That means that rookie forwards Jason Zucker and Johan Larsson, who played their first games of the season Sunday, are likely to accompany the Wild on their trip.

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Briefly

Wild forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard is the father of a new daughter, Amelia. ... Clayton Stoner celebrated his 28th birthday Tuesday. ... Defenseman Nate Prosser, who has averaged more than 10 minutes of ice time in seven games, has not yet been on the ice when an opponent has scored. Prosser and Bouchard lead Minnesota in plus-minus numbers at plus-2.